Remember when you’d spend your weekends hanging out with your best friends, staying up all night, eating tons of junk food, and watching your favorite movies in your super comfy pajamas? Well, four Iowa comedians are recapturing that nostalgia this Saturday, and turning the volume up to eleven. Chics with Bics, a brand new comedy show that encompasses stand up, improv, and sketch will be hosting a performance at the Blackhawk Room next to the Moline Bierstube on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 8 p.m. The show is the brainchild of stand up comedian and improvisor Heather Nobiling, who sought to give the... Read More

It’s a warm, slightly overcast day at 3 p.m. in July. As I’m walking circles around Vanderveer Park, I pause every moments to swipe my phone and pick up the items as they appear in bubbles on my screen. Those items? Three pokeballs, a potion, and a raspberry. And on I go with my afternoon walk. I’m far from alone this day, as the park is filled with hundreds of people, all of them staring at their phones, befriending each other, comparing rosters, fighting over gyms, and coming up with creative strings of swear words to express their disdain for the fickle servers. There’s a few teens,... Read More

Every year around mid-May, thousands of geek-culture lovers make the pilgrimage to Rosemont, Illinois to take part in Anime Central (ACen), the largest and longest-running anime convention in the Midwest. Anime, or Japanese animation, is widely popular in Western pop culture, particularly among teens and young adults, though anyone of any age can enjoy it as there are a multitude of different genres and storylines. These conventions are a gathering place for fans of comics, anime, science fiction, and even table top gaming, and people from all walks of life and fandom can be found in attendance. Anime... Read More